VISITORSITE.NET - V COLUMNS

Ten Things I'd Like To See In V Season 2

Column by Craig Byrne

For the past few years on KryptonSite, I've listed ten things that I wanted to see in coming seasons during the summer hiatus. I figure since things are a little quiet in V-land, it's the perfect chance to list those things I'd like to see from the Visitors in Season Two.

I love that V has had actors from Lost, Firefly, Battlestar Galactica, Smallville, and other science fiction hits among its cast. But let's see more, if at all possible. I know my friend Rebecca would love to see Josh Holloway acting opposite Elizabeth Mitchell again, as an example. I'm just saying...

9. More Father Jack.

I'm really fascinated to see where Father Jack will go after his speech at the end of the finale. If the world turns on the V's, will they rally behind him? And, really, why is the head pastor of his church so creepy and in love with the Visitors anyway? Let's see more of that.

8. Please, no more of the "Tyler's true parentage" stuff.

One of those storylines that seemed to go nowhere last year was the allegation that the man Tyler believed to be his father might not actually be his father. The storyline dragged and took away from what we really wanted to see, which would be humans vs. Visitors. I'm sure there's still some mystery there but to be honest... I don't care. Even if there was a later revelation that Tyler himself is a Visitor placed by Anna or something like that, it's not worth it. Let's just pretend it never happened. (While we're on the note of Tyler, though, where did his friend Brandon go?)

7. No more long breaks.

It seemed like it took forever for V to premiere, and then it was suddenly gone again, and then we had another long break. I'm hoping that ABC plans the episode schedule in a better fashion this year, and ideally they'll order a "back nine" taking the show to 22 episodes for the season so we don't have to go through long waits between episodes.

6. More Good Lisa and Bad Ryan.

Lisa working on the side of the Fifth Column... I hope the story is going that way. It gives Laura a chance to act with some depth and seeing Lisa directly interacting with Erica Evans & co. is always cool. I can just picture the reaction if, say, Hobbes tried to hit on this "young girl" and she turned around, cunning Visitor that she is, and put him in his place. Among the Fifth Column resistance, she could be a fantastic character.

On the other side of the coin, Ryan succumbing to Anna opened up a world of possibilities for the future. While I don't think he'll remain on Anna's side forever, I think it's very interesting to see him become so cold. Will something bring him back to the side of good? Maybe. Let's watch and see.

5. It's Us V. Them

Seeing the Visitors as possible friends was interesting for Season 1, but unfortunately, that kind of a situation can only go on for so long before getting repetitive. If things are amped up a bit, as I imagine they will be, the humans vs. Visitors story would be a lot more interesting than the "random skirmish/get-on-the-ship plan of the week." Which brings me to...

4. Visitor Shock-Troopers.

When Anna was birthing an army, I half expected to see troopers with red outfits and black helmets. As "cheesy" as some might think that would be, it's an iconic image of the original V, and once the Visitors' dislike for the humans is out in the open, their troopers should be too. Let's get those red-shirts in so the good guys know which lizards to shoot at.

3. Humor.

You read that right. Humor. Part of what made the original V work, to me, were the little moments like Robert Englund's Willie getting used to the world, or the banter between Ham Tyler and "Gooder" Mike Donovan. So often the new V is so serious, that I think a lot of that humor is lost, although the addition of Hobbes has improved things a little bit. Even so, Scott Rosenbaum as a producer did a great job incorporating humor with action in Chuck, so hopefully he can inject some of that into V for the second season.

2. Mark Hildreth and Charles Mesure as series regulars.

I know he wasn't a part of the "regular cast" and only a recurring role, but Mark Hildreth's character of Joshua might have been my favorite character on the series last year. I definitely want to see more of him. And Charles Mesure as Hobbes seems to have fit well in the Fifth Column's "Justice League." On that same note... Christopher Shyer as Marcus also deserves a spot among the show's regular cast, if at all possible.

1. Jane Badler. (Or anyone from the original V, for that matter)

Sure, Anna's the Queen, but is there a Queen Mother? I love Anna. I love what Morena Baccarin has done with her, and hope she's on the series for a very long time. But there would be no Anna without Jane Badler and her wonderful interpretation of Diana on the original V series. She's a TV icon, and if given a respectable role and not just a cameo, she could be introduced to a whole new generation.

If Badler doesn't happen, I hope there'd be possibility for Marc Singer, Faye Grant, Robert Englund, Michael Ironside, or, heck, even Blair Tefkin or David Packer to show up. I'd settle for Jeff Yagher at this point... if it means seeing a familiar face. Sure it's a gimmick, but it's a fun gimmick.